Great debut for new boy Mascherano
Submitted by tony on Sun, 2007-02-25 11:58.
Javier Mascherano finally made his Liverpool debut against Sheffield United, and after putting in a solid performance, has he given Benitez a selection problem in midfield?
Mascherano faces competition for a place from Alonso, Gerrard, Sissoko and Zenden, but if he carries on like yesterday it wont be long before he is a first team regular.
It is too early to get carried away, but, Mascherano is already a regular in the Argentina first team, and despite not playing for over 3 months he did not look out of place yesterday.
At first, he was not getting involved much, not coming over for throw ins, not really getting much of the ball, but then he started throwing himself in for tackles, and despite being small in size, he pretty much always got the ball when going in for it.
His tackle on Stead towards the end showed what he is capable of , and everyone around me in the Kop gave him a huge round of applause for it. With him in a more defensive position, Gerrard was allowed to roam forward, which got us 2 penalties and a goal for Gerrard himself, but with Sissoko's performance in Barca, and Alonso playing well again, Mascherano faces a fight for a place.
Is he worthy of one or is he just a bench warmer? Personally, i think he will be ahead of Zenden in the pecking order, and would not be surprised to see him figure against Man United or Barcelona , alongside Alonso or Sissoko.
Despite only being on loan, Javier Mascherano could prove a brilliant signing for Liverpool, but as i said earlier, it is too early to get carried away, but as long as he gets a good few games, he could prove a brilliant signing.
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Mascherano
I thought he had a good debut, got some good tackles in, a few more games under his belt and he could be a regular
yeah but
yeah but, a regular in place of who tony ...thats the real question..momo ,xabi, or stevie ??
yeah but
There is no better player than Momo in breaking the opponents play but he is not better than any other midfielder we have at 'making play'or creating chances. I would tend to say that Masch can therefore be better than him.
Masch is a better tackler than XABI and has a a good passing vision but not better than XABI's.
So I would tend to wait and his development to know if he can really dislodge any of these two.
Now coming to Stevie, yes he is a great player but sometimes fail to stand to his own standard. I would say that it is not difficult to see when Stevie is not performing well as he has now established a high standard for himself. In such situations he should be taken off quickly and not wait for 70 minutes to change things. then we should let Masch and Xabi and Momo in the middle
not too sure
Excuse me? (lol) 'it's easy to see when Stevie isn't playing well' ???
And he should be taking off sooner rather than later!!! If that was the case vik, then Alonso would have played very little football the last 13 months!!
Yes Alonso has a great passing range but he hasn't been displaying it for longer than i care to remember but has still held a regular position in the team.. To top that off, recently he has been sloppy with short passes and getting caught in possession in dangerous areas.
If he and Mascherano are rotated fairly that may give him the kick up the bun he needs, if not it will improve Masch so it really is a win win.
As for Momo ... there is no one as tenacious in the tackle in that midfield who can maintain those energy levels for 90 mins every three days... so by my reckoning ... stevie and mascherano ????
Masc for Alonso!!
I agree perfectly with you that he should be rotated only with Alonso..
Alonso is the player who is preventing liverpool from progressing, simply coz apart from passing the ball he does nothing in the team!! Other teams have players who can pass the ball but also able to score goals or tackle! look at the Sheffield game u'll see how much the game is rapid without him, its much more better to play gerrard and a defending midfield together with 2 wingers than playing gerrard and alonso together!
rotate
Thats a very good point as he's in direct competition with Alonso ( Rafas Spanish son) and you don't fancy his chances! momo is indispensable as is stevie so by my calculations that should mean a fair rotation of xavi and maschsrano. To be fair Alonso hasn't had the best season in fact his dip started before last may, so if he does feel the heat of compo perhaps he'll revert back to the player we know he is. I mean he can't be happy playing the type of ball he's producing at the moment and if javier is playing well and taking his chances he deserve regular games as does anyone!!
Masch
magnumopus***
I think who will not play will depend on the formation decided upon by Rafa for specific opponents. Also, by injuries and match play schedule. All the rest is speculation that has little value.
Bellamy
I do think that Bell is our best forward we have seconded by Kuyt.
Kuyt is industrious as said by someone else and I agree with that but finishing the chances and creating the chances I think Bell is the best in our front line.
Bell has pace, reads game better any other forward we have and has a winning mentality.
I have seen Bell getting in front of the defenders more than any other striker so far.
what do others think
bellamy
you joker bellamy reads the game then how come he is allways offside and he misses far too many chances yes he has pace so did cisse and cisse is faster speed cannot make up for skill bell is only a average player crouch scores more than him and plays less games
Crouch!!!
Hey rouman, we are not playing against Watford or west ham here!!! Crouch is the useless player of liverpool who scores against only lowly teams, he won't be able to do anything against ManU. He is useless in the air, don't has pace and will keep falling down without even getting a foul!!
I kno u will say he scored last time in league cup against ManU, BUT if u watch well it was the ball which strucked him, he would have certainly missed that goal he he was really trying to score!!
Ok, i can give him a chance as a second half substitute by 75 min, but Definitely not a start!!
I'd prefer slow fowler on whom we can rely to score than Crouch!!!
So finally the only option left will be kuyt-bellamy or maybe kuyt alone upfront with gerrard behind him!
crouch
oyou need to listen pal i said i pefer fowler to any of them but bellamy is only second rate crouch does score more goals than bell and what does bell do against big teams sfa you do not know foot ball pal bellamy lacks class he will be sold in the summer to asecond rate club were he belongs a kick and run player
Strikers....rafa looking to sign
Finally rafa is looking to sign a Quality,world class striker in the summer 07.Rafa has been linked with eto,villa,torres. thses are 3 of the best strikers in the world. to sign anyone of these strikers, rafa will have to pay over 20m. i can see rafa selling bellamy, fowler released. i hope rafa signs 2 wingers and a centrehalf, in the summer.
hype
criticalmind ... Assnal are looking to snap up Carson if the papers are to believed and if you have been watching him you will see what a top class keeper he is. Great response, assured in the air and knows the prem well to name a few attributes.
The signings mentioned by topscout are all top quality but also a bit predictable.. i.e we've got a bit of money so now linked with big strikers.
Rafa has never managed to prize away any of Valencias crown jewels in the 3 yrs he's been here so I doubt he'd be able to nick their top hit man!
Eto perhaps is more suited to football that is of the pass and move camp and technically very high so if he were to come to the prem i feel he may opt for assnall. Some say he may want to come because of the Spanish contingency but it's important to remember that he is not Spanish and is African so the north London club would be a better option... if he were to leave!
Torrers again is the Spanish Darling and you can't see him leaving all that adoration for the Mersey.
We'll probably have to shop local and go for players that are hungry to be a success
Ribery / Bent / Ashton /
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